Sep 09, 2005 03:14 PM
5993 Views
(Updated Sep 09, 2005 03:14 PM)
Ok I've had the wagonR for a year now and I guess I'm ready to review it.
To start with, the WagonR is very spacious.... and when I bought it Maruti didnt mind people dying in their cars so it was devoid of airbags... so what did they do with that slot over the glove compartment originally meant to house the airbag??... they made it a handy storage slot. People with the airbag fitted in this slot do NOT attempt to paste or keep things over the flap.. or else the airbag will take an eye out instead of saving you.
Under the steering wheel,next to the gear console,under the glove compartment,over the glove compartment,under the ashtray,in the doors ..... slots slots SLOTS !!! .... I realy do like this arrangement.. helps me get organised even in the car.
The rear seats are split and can be inclined just like the front seats... now this combination I really like. Very VERY useful. The boot is very spacious and lets u store tons of things and your mother-in law .
The stock mirrors SUCK big time. The rear view mirror inside the car is this tiny thing that cant even cover the rear wind shield. The side mirrors are like something out of a truck. very tacky and simple...
The air conditioning is AWESOME ! .. one of the best yet. The temperature inside drops instantaniously and has exceptional cooling capacity. Even at the least setting the air gets very cold indeed. Having said that, I must mention that the slider type control for the AC and air vents instead of the dial present in both swift and Alto are total CRAP .
The speedometer and other dials are very pleasant and sporty. The digital odometer has 2 tripmeters in addition to the permanent recorder. This is a very nice and useful facility for the mileage conscious..... ME !. However I'm very curious why theres SOOOO much empty black space in the steering console??... the huge display area is occupied by 2-3 indicators. Looks like the car was stripped of several sensors.
The model I bought comes with front power windows. Should I be happy?... NO !. The engine is so severely overloaded that it starts to vibrate when I use the power windows. If u use 2 windows simultaneously then the windows start to move in slow motion. Now its not unbearable viration, infact most of you may not even notice it while driving. But when idling I certainly noticed it .
The power steering of the car is something else. You need 2 people to steer the damn thing !! .... ok ok I wont exagerate , but those of you that have driven Zen's and Alto's will notice the not-so-smooth steering in the wagon R . I've complained numerous times about this but to no avail.
The suspension is fairly ordinary. If a fast car goes by you when ur standing still, the whole car will jolt. This maybe because of its raised CG and generally heavy nature.. but you'd expect these things to be taken care of while designing.
The transmission is prety good. The first gear is useless like in all maruti-suzuki cars. It can barely get the car to move before the engine starts roaring and gasping. The second gear is another mystery. It seems to be loaded owing to the quick first gear shift and the car will jerk if u rev and release on this gear. Third gear onwards is a joy to drive on. The car has very good pickup and accelerates smoothly.
Handling is surprisingly good for such a tall car. Except for the fact that it tends to bounce of bumps on the road and slide sideways if encountered while accelerating on a curve , it doesnt get nervous at higher speeds.
The maruti manual is a complete joke. They'll have u driving at 40 kmph in the 5th gear. LOL ! . I rev the engine between 2000-3000 rpm on each gear and I get excellent acceleration while NOT compromising on the mileage. I get around 12-13 kmpl. the AC doesnt seem to make that much of difference to the mileage, but as expected brings down the engine power transfer to the differential.
In coclusion, the car is very drivable, and arguably the best in its class. The only thing Santro has over the WagonR is probably the finish. Somehow I feel Maruti have a long way to go in this department.
The car is very powerful, has exellent braking and a powerful AC. All this with very acceptable mileage.
